Category: News (Page 56 of 183)

Valve Fans Triumphant: Glimmerings of a Portal ARG

March 2, 2010 / Michael Andersen

portal In 2007, Valve galvanized the gaming industry when it released the video game Portal. Although ostensibly a first-person shooter built upon Valve’s Source engine, the game’s quirky puzzles, catchy soundtrack, and unreliable narrator GLaDOS quickly captured the hearts and minds of gamers.Â Yesterday, Rock Paper Shotgun reported that Valve Software released a specialÂ update for Portal,Â noting that it “[c]hanged radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations.” Â The seemingly innocuous update inserted a series of secret messages into the game that have led Valve fans on a merry chase for what may be the launch of an alternate reality game.

As the update’s description suggested, Portal’s radio service has received an upgrade.Â Players can now carry the device around the game’s levels, using it as a portable receiverÂ to detect morse code and Slow Scan Television transmissions at specific locations to transmit 26 messages and images, collected here. Â One of these images contained the phone number for a BBS located in Kirkland, Washington.Â By inputting a username and password provided in one of the morse code transmissions, players gained access to the backup system for GLaDOS v.3.11, the game’s artificial intelligence system.Â

Repo Men Launches: Tracking Down Artificial Organs for Fun and Profit

February 25, 2010 / Michael Andersen

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Ciji Thorton is a 26-year old woman with an artificial eye.
Will LaFerriere is a 27-year old former military man with an artificial heart.
Alex Gamble is a 22-year old female with an artificial liver.
And Usman Akeju is a 27-year old software consultant with an artificial kidney.

For the next month, three simple words can cost these four runners $7,500. Any registered hunter in the country can repossess the runner’s artiforg (artificial organ) by getting within speaking distance of them, uttering a three word phrase, receiving their codeword, collecting their artiforg, and calling their Union rep using the runner’s phone.Â Promoting the upcoming release of the movie Repo Men, this alternate reality gameÂ will test the abilities of Ciji, Will, Alex, and Usman to remain undetected against an onslaught of investigative skills from “bounty hunters” nationwide.

Flynn Lives Welcomes You To The Pit Cell

February 25, 2010 / Celina Beach

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As we reported earlier, ZeroHour reached the end of its countdown at 11AM EST (4PM GMT) and had players all over the globe sitting by their computers, compulsively pounding their F5 keys to see when their city’s listing would go live and a drop location would be revealed.Â Chicago, Orlando, and Paris were the first to update, and it was quickly discovered the drop points were located, fittingly, at arcades. Â Upon arriving, players looked for their contacts in Flynn Lives t-shirts.Â The first one to reach the contact gave a pass phrase (such as “Downloadable Content” or “Power Slide”) and was rewarded with a phone, but no further instructions. Â Once players figured out there was a number in the phone’s contact listÂ labeled “Call Me”, they called and talked to a live person who gave them instructions to find the rest of their package – an 80’s style vinyl velcro “TRON” wallet containing 3 Tron trading cards with codes to be input into the ZeroHour website, aÂ few Flynn’s Arcade tokens, and newspaper clippings about ENCOM.Â A PM helper shadowed the players and, once the package was found, the ZeroHour website was updated with a check mark to note the drop had been successfully picked up.Â The players then logged into the ZeroHour site to enter the codes, which unlocked the cards on the site.

As the day went on, more cities went live and more drops were collected.Â Except for a glitch or two (the Toronto package wasÂ taken before the player could reach it, and the Madrid drop was never recovered) the drop collections were rapidly collected and the codes were entered.Â Finally, whenÂ Las Vegas and SydneyÂ were the only locations left, the “No” Bit under the card icons changed to a “Yes” Bit.Â Â ClickingÂ on the BitÂ led to a new site, The Pit Cell.

The Pit Cell contains information on an “exclusive limited event” to be heldÂ this SaturdayÂ in 4 different IMAX theater locations – New York, Los Angeles, London, Toronto; and a fifth on Sunday in Sydney.Â Ticket distributionÂ starts todayÂ at 4PM EST (9PM GMT), on a first-come, first-served basis.

UPDATE: Flynn Lives ZeroHour is Live

February 24, 2010 / Celina Beach

flynnlives1 As previously covered, the fine folks at Flynn Lives, ever vigilant in their quest to find the lost Kevin Flynn, released a countdown 8 days ago.Â Yesterday, an email was sent to players who had previously signed up on the Flynn Lives site reminding them of the quest and a request for “operatives” in 25 cities, with a link to the countdown. Â The countdown expired today, and players clicked on the binary countdown flash which lead them to a new page on the Flynn Lives site, and contains a list of the previously revealed 25 cities, a grid with numbers into which codes can be entered (apparently similar to last July’s Comic-Con event), and a blank list for 66 “Operatives.” Â Currently, 3 cities are live: Chicago, Orlando, and Paris: directions have players heading to what are possibly arcades.

Players can now manage their profile information to provide contact information to “[g]et information, assignments and important artifacts through regular post/mail” and “[g]et quick updates via phone and text for important coordinated activities on the ground.”Â These profiles can then be linked toÂ players’ Facebook accounts to post Badges and Honors.Â

Stay tuned throughout the day as events unfold!

Repo Men: Countdown to the Hunt

February 20, 2010 / Michael Andersen

repomenhunt Lone Shark Games, Wired, and Universal have selected four applicants to attempt to disappear for the next month.Â According to the teaser page for the campaign, the hunt for these four volunteers begins February 25 at the stroke of midnight, Eastern Standard Time (Feb 24 at 9PM, PST).

As Repossession Specialists, hunters will be seeking out the four individuals previously selected, to “retrieve ‘artiforgs’ [Union-branded artificial organs] from the possession of users who are seriously behind on their payments.Â Successfully retrieving an artiforg results in a $7,500 cash prize.Â In order to hunt, however, prospective Repossession Specialists need to submit a job application. Â The site clearly states that “[o]nly registered Repo Men who follow all local and national laws and Union rules are eligible to receive cash for artiforgs.”Â The teaser page now links directly to Repo Men’s Union Cares website, so it looks like the contest will be at least partially integrated with the ongoing viral campaign.Â Registration to hunt as a Repossession Specialist hasn’t opened yet, but should become available any day now as the countdown approaches zero.

Clues for the game may come in unexpected places, so players are warned to keep their eyes open.Â The teaser specifically charges potential hunters to “scan our posters and media for valuable information,” so stay sharp!Â Maybe that string of numbers under the Repo Men title means something after all…

Click Here for MovieViral.com’s coverage of the Union Cares viral page
Click Here for the discussion at Unfiction.com

UPDATE: Flynn Lives Gradually Revealing a List of City Names

February 19, 2010 / Celina Beach

flynnlivescities Shortly after the countdown began at FlynnLives.com/zerohour, players noticed that what appeared to be a picture was slowly forming, pixel by pixel, beneath the binary countdown.Â That image, although not complete, has started to reveal a list of city names, a good portion of which can be deduced.Â Washington DC, Atlanta, Orlando, Raleigh, San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Phoenix are fairly legible, with more becoming so as the countdown approaches the zero hour on February 24th.Â Stay tuned in the coming days to see if YOUR city appears on the list!